Dear Friends at 5C:
Thanks to Pastor Ray for Sunday’s message! Like always, his message is rich in knowledge and full of spiritual insights in understanding this God’s created world. We look forward to his remaining messages in this series. Praise the Lord for both of our Sunday school classes. For Chinese Sunday school, we continue to study the series “That the World May Know”. I am impressed by people’s enthusiasm in class discussion. No matter who is leading the discussion, many have watched this video multiple times before the class. English Sunday school will finish the Book of Daniel soon, and they may also pick up this series to study in May. Truly there is so much to learn in the journey to the holy land. And I hope that this may help us understand better what God has accomplished in the history of redemption.
Since the deadly shooting in Atlanta last month, the nation has been scrambling to understand what this hate crime means to Asian Americans. Last week the Senate overwhelmingly passed Asian American Hate Crimes Bill, the first step for the US to recognize the heinous nature of this crime. As the US moves closer to end this pandemic, it is time to rebuild this country not only strong in economy, but also strong as a society of freedom and justice for all people living in this free land. Asian Americans are no longer silent, or invisible in this country. On April 25, the 93rd Oscar Awards honored two Asian women for their achievement in filming, a significant contrast with six victims of Asian-American women in the Atlanta shooting. This movement demonstrates the beauty of American democracy- to build a society of equality, freedom and justice, which is also in an accord with the message of the Gospel.
As you may know by now, our church plans to reopen on June 13. It has been more than a year since last time the church family met together on the church campus. As I talked to some of our members last week, we all are eager to resume in-person service in June. Yes, I am excited too! However, in the midst of the pandemic, there is still a lot of logistics that we have to deal with in order to reopen the church safely. Please pray for the deacon board that will meet this Sunday again to finalize the details. God has been working in our church in spite of the adverse circumstance in the past year. Therefore, I am confident that the Lord will continue to lead us into the next step of this journey. Please feel free to let Pastor or deacons know if you have any questions or concerns regarding the church reopening.
Ministry Update:
- Bianca Lin will lead church prayer meeting (in Chinese) at 7:30pm this Thursday 4/29
- Pastor Chen’s virtual office hours is scheduled from 10:00am-12:00pm Friday 4/30
- Small group “Love” will meet at 7:30pm Sunday 5/2 through Zoom
- Chinese Sunday school (Annie Shi-Mu) and English Sunday school (Bianca)
- We will continue the sermon series on the Book of Galatians this Sunday 5/2
- Deacon monthly meeting is scheduled at 1:00pm on Sunday 5/2
- Deacon board will communicate church reopening plan on Sunday, May 9
- Our church decides to reopen in-person service on Sunday June 13
- Our church prepares to launch a disciple-training program in the summer
Prayer Requests:
- Pray for the Coronavirus outbreak in the US and around the world
- Pray for physical and spiritual well-being of our church members
- Pray for the church reopening on Sunday, June 13
- Pray for small group ministry in our church
- Pray for the launch of disciple training program in the summer
- Pray for Crystal Cui for her shingles and her Mother’s migraine headaches
- Pray for Lydia Anderson’s resurgent brain tumor
- Pray for Annie’s sister and Anderson’s brother for Parkinson’s disease
Look forward to seeing you virtually on Sunday.
Blessings!
Jinchang
親愛的中岸教會朋友們:
感謝裴牧師上主日的講道!和往常一樣,他的講道提供了豐富的知識及屬靈上的見解,幫助我們更好認識上帝創造的這個世界。我們非常期待該講道系列余下的部分。感謝主,中文主日學將繼續學習“讓世界都知道”系列。大家對於課堂討論的熱情給我留下了深刻的印象。無論由誰帶領討論,他們都已在課前多次觀看了該視頻;英語主日學將很快結束《但以理書》系列,也可能會在 5 月份學習這個系列。的確,在這個聖地的旅途中,有很多東西可以學習。我希望這可以幫助我們更好地了解上帝在救贖歷史上所成就的工作。
自上個月在亞特蘭大發生的槍擊事件以來,全國上下忙於了解這種仇恨犯罪對亞裔美國人所造成的影響。上週,參議院以壓倒性票數通過了《亞裔美國人仇恨犯罪法案》,這是美國針對這一令人髮指罪行所邁出的第一步。隨著美國離疫情結束越來越近,現在是時候重建我們的國家了。美國不僅需要強大的經濟實力,更要為生活在這片自由土地上的每一個人建立一個自由和正義的社會。在這個國家,亞裔美國人將不再沉默或被忽\視。4 月 25 日,第 93 屆奧斯卡金像獎,兩名亞裔女性在電影方面的成就被給予肯定和嘉獎,這與在亞特蘭大槍擊事件中被害的六名亞裔女性形成了鮮明的對比。這場運動展示了美國民主美好的一面,即建立一個平等、自由和正義的社會,這也恰恰是基督福音所要傳遞的信息。
您可能已得知,教會計劃於 6 月 13 日重新開始教堂敬拜。距離上一次教會大家庭在教堂見面已經一年多的時間了。上週我與一些教會成員交談,大家都渴望在 6 月恢復在教堂的敬拜。我也非常期待與大家面對面!但是在疫情期間,為了安全地重新開放教堂,我們仍然需要處理大量的後勤問題。請為將在本週日再次召開會議的執事們祈禱,執事會將敲定開放計劃的最後細節。儘管過去一年有許不順,但上帝仍在眷顧我們的教會。因此,我有信心,主會繼續帶領我們旅程的下一步。如果您對教會重新開放有任何建議或疑慮,請隨時與牧師或執事聯繫。
事工更新:
1. 張西齡姐妹將帶領本週四 4 月 29 日晚間 7 點半的中文禱告會
2. 陳牧師本週辦公時間為週五 4 月 30 日上午 10 點至 12 點
3. 本週中文主日學將由裴師母帶領,英文主日學由張西齡姐妹帶領
4. 『仁愛』小組 5 月 2 日週日晚間 7 點半線上聚會
5. 下主日 5 月 2 日將繼續《加拉太書》講道系列
6. 執事會將於 5 月 2 日週日下午一點召開執事會
7. 執事會將於 5 月 9 日週日與會眾夠溝通重返教堂的事項
8. 教會計劃於夏天開展門徒訓練計劃,歡迎所有教會成員參加
禱告事項
1. 為美國及世界各地的新冠肺炎的爆發
2. 為我們教會所有成員的身體及屬靈健康
3. 為 6 月 13 日的重返教堂
4. 為教會各個小組事工
5. 為教會開展的門徒訓練計劃禱告
6. 為正在受帶狀皰疹折磨的崔琳姐妹祈禱,並為她母親的偏頭疼祈禱
7. 為馮慶芳姐妹復發性腦瘤及後續的治療祈禱
8. 為裴師母姐姐和林恩深弟兄的哥哥祈禱,他們正在遭受帕金森的困擾
期待週日線上見
主僕 陳金昌